ALL THE GEAR, NO IDEA
After 4 months of pitching and my best behaviour, for my 21st birthday I got a MacBook Pro. It is beautiful, sleek and will hopefully serve me for many years to come. I see myself and my mac, the apple of my eye (pun intended), powering through my adult years, taking on the world and whatever future occupation I land myself in. Unfortunately, my 21st also marked the point in my adult life, where I had to edge out of the nest that tiny bit more and pay for my own phone contract. The lost and panicked feeling I felt when my Dad broke the news to me that he had popped into the EE store to discuss ending my contract was worrying. However, I like to think I took it in my stride. It was a long time coming and I am eternally grateful to my parents for cushioning me for this long.
So, with the new revelation and looming deadline of when my contract would end, I found myself spurred into action. I trawled countless websites to find the best contract deal and was determined to land myself the swankiest phone at the lowest price. I now know that this isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. As someone who is the first to admit that they enjoy the finer things in life, I set my sights on the Iphone 7. Having been an Iphone veteran since the age of 15 (again, thanks Mum and Dad!), I am fully aware that they have their flaws, (but doesn’t everyone).
Slightly dazed and out of my depths at the huge number of deals, I found myself signing up to a website which claimed to sell brand new IPhones with no upfront cost and at the monthly price of £16. Evidently, I am not overly familiar with the term ‘seems too good to be true’. It wasn’t until I had entered all bank details and reached the final point of purchase when my instinct finally began to kick in. Maybe this wasn’t the most reputable website ever. I decided to continue my search after a close-call of nearly being conned out of all my student money, due to my own lack of research and the least savvy eye going. I finally settled for a great GiffGaff deal where my Iphone 7 was sent out the following day.
Now, having been blinded by the 7’s gorgeous big screen and flawless camera, I had not taken into account the incompatibility all new Apple products now seem to have with any other Apple product on the market. For the first time, once my excitement had eventually died down, I feared for a second that I might have shot myself in the foot slightly. I have to admit, I was aware that the new MacBook Pro has a grand total of three ports, those being two USBC’s and one headphone jack. I also wasn’t completely surprised when I discovered that I was unable to plug my old headphones into my new phone (due to lack of headphone jack). I had been aware, but did not care. Again, my excitement of getting a brand spanking new laptop and a swanky new phone overrode any ounce of rationality. – A common theme which seems to be recurring here. My stab at rationalising these minor flaws, was that in ten year’s time, every Apple product will have the same ports and I am simply ahead of the game.
This, however, was the least of my worries...
Once I had my Mac and phone up and running and was fully smitten with both, I had not a care in the world for the tiny inconveniences they caused in my day to day life. I was eager to transfer the photos from my old phone to my new phone and start my new life with these badass babes of gadgets. I decided to make the most of ICloud seeing’s as for the first time in my life I had both an Apple phone and laptop. I sent the photos across to my new phone, and once they had transferred I proceeded to delete them all from my old phone, cut all ties if you like.
I watched in dismay, as every single photo disappeared one by one from my old phone, new phone and laptop. I tried to work out where I had gone wrong and after a number of conversations with my Apple owning friends and a swift nip into the Apple store itself, I was gently and tactfully informed by the nice man at Apple, that the problem wasn’t in fact any of my gadgets, or ICloud for that matter, the problem was me.
I had been living a lavish lie. No matter how many adapters I bought, I still didn’t have a clue how any of this stuff worked.
After a second masterclass from the same nice man at Apple, I now feel more than capable of using these beauties to the potential they so rightfully deserve. Armed with yet another adapter which allows me to plug my phone charger into my laptop, Apple man and myself decided it would be best for me to back up my phone the old-school way.
I will never make fun of my Mum for not being tech-savvy again.